Governor Josh Stein visited Guilford Technical Community College Tuesday to highlight initiatives to train child care workers.
Stein began with a training classroom tour led by Early Childhood Education Program Director Shannon Burghart. She said the demand for child care services is high, and post-COVID childcare instructor shortages are real.
Stein said over the last two and a half years, North Carolina has had a net loss of 264 child care centers, just as the state population experienced dramatic growth.
"So we have fewer slots to meet greater demand that puts the price up, making it out of reach for too many North Carolinians, and that's if they can find it at all," said Stein. "What we need to do is to support the entire industry so that we have more providers, better-paid caretakers and educators, and then more access to parents."
Stein added that many parents leave the workforce because they can’t afford the cost of child care. GTCC’s training program received $50,000 from the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Stein said he plans on putting tens of millions of dollars toward early childhood education in his upcoming budget.